Autumn's Fading, 2006
To: A. H.
You always turn away as we are talking
Pass our subject to a passing friend
And graceful if not gracious excise me
What can I do but fade
I can’t recall the colour of your eyes
As I sketch your visage in my mind
They are vivid green then soften into blue
And end storm-cloud grey
How much have you left unspoken
Here in vast and silent space
What have you been telling me
Every time the sequence seems the same
You speak first and look me in the eye
And after I reply you carry on
With someone else
And so I make my exit unobserved
How frightening to think
How small I keep you
Slight edit on 12/7/2024 due to a transcription error in the original post. ‘when’ in the first line adjusted to ‘as’ to match the actual poem (rather than an earlier draft)
Further edits on 11/15/2025 to adjust a similar error in the second line and to move above edit note to the bottom here and adjust it slightly—as well as to add the full-stop after the H in the dedication
Here, we’re stocking up on firewood (rather hurriedly and belatedly) to keep the fires underneath the bull well fed. The wood will be underseasoned and so excessively smokey, but that shouldn’t affect those of us inside. Have you considered whether you might want to